U.S. Housing Cost Burden · Share of Income by State

U.S. Housing · Cost as % of Median Monthly Income, 2026

U.S. Housing Cost Burden · Share of Income by State

Housing costs eat the biggest share of income in the U.S. West and Northeast. Hawaii 50% and California 43% lead the burden; Iowa 17% and West Virginia 18% carry the lightest load. Hawaii faces a projected 64,000-unit shortage by 2027 driven by geographic limits and regulatory costs.

Housing costs as a share of income by U.S. state, March 2026 — Voronoi/Visual Capitalist infographic sourced from CCER, U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow, WalletHub. Hawaii 50%, California 43%, Iowa 17%. — Housing costs as a share of median monthly household income, March 2026. Data: Council for Community and Economic Research, U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow, WalletHub. Visualization: Voronoi / Visual Capitalist.

Why this matters for B2B

When housing eats >40% of income, discretionary demand narrows — households consolidate around essentials, delay upgrades, buy smaller. High-burden markets (HI, CA, NV, OR, WA) trend to smaller-footprint furniture, downsized appliances, tighter category discipline. Low-burden markets (IA, WV, KS, KY) show broader mid-tier discretionary. Pair with where Americans are priced out (c22) and income after bills (c26).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), state GDP by industry, 2025 series. Visualization: Voronoi / Visual Capitalist ("Manufacturing's Share of U.S. GDP by State"). Original image reproduced above with source attribution intact.